Original Post: Daily Caller
In response to the revelation that about 20 percent of the latest slew of Obamacare waivers went to luxurious restaurants, nightclubs and hotels in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s district, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told The Daily Caller the waiver process is “corrupt.”
“Unflippingbelievable! No, wait, it is believable,” Palin said in an email to TheDC. “Seriously, this is corrupt. And anyone who still supports the Pelosi-Reid-Obama agenda of centralized government takeovers of the free market and the corresponding crony capitalism is, in my book, complicit.”
President Barack Obama’s administration approved 204 new Obamacare waivers in April. Thirty-eight of them went to upscale businesses including four-star hotels, gourmet restaurants, day spas and hip nightclubs in Pelosi’s district. That’s in addition to 27 new waivers for health care or drug companies and the 31 new union waivers Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) approved.
Other common waiver recipients were labor union chapters, large corporations, financial firms and local governments. But Pelosi’s district’s waivers are the first major examples of upscale, gourmet restaurants and hotels getting a year-long pass from Obamacare.
The reason the Obama administration says it has given out waivers is to exempt certain companies or policyholders from “annual limit requirements.” The applications for the waivers are “reviewed on a case-by-case basis by department officials who look at a series of factors including whether or not a premium increase is large or if a significant number of enrollees would lose access to their current plan because the coverage would not be offered in the absence of a waiver.” The waivers don’t allow a company to permanently refrain from implementing Obamacare’s stipulations, but companies can reapply for waivers annually through 2014.
UPDATE: 11:38 a.m.:
House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, spokesman Michael Steel told TheDC this is another “backroom sweetheart deal” for Obamacare.
“It looks like ObamaCare’s backroom sweetheart deals didn’t end when it became law,” Steel said in an email to TheDC. “Remember when former Speaker Pelosi said we needed to pass the bill to find out what was in it? I guess once they found out, the high-end eateries and spas in her Congressional District weren’t big fans.”
UPDATE: 2:25 p.m.:
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) jumped on TheDC’s reports of Pelosi’s district’s waivers, using them as a way to attack Democrats who voted against repealing Obamacare. In releases to several “target” districts with incumbent Democrats nationwide, NRCC staff ripped the Representatives who voted against repeal.
“Despite the fact that many of Nancy Pelosi’s own constituents in San Francisco recognize the job-destroying effects of their government takeover of healthcare, Heath Shuler still doesn’t get it,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay in the release that went to Shuler’s North Carolina district, for instance. “Shuler’s continued defense of the Democrats’ job-crushing healthcare law ignores the very real damage being done to small businesses trying to create jobs, whether they are located in San Francisco or North Carolina.”
The NRCC sent similar releases to audiences of the following Democratic representatives: Jason Altmire, Tim Holden and Mark Critz of Pennsylvania, John Barrow and Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Brian Higgins, Bill Owens, Tim Bishop, Steve Israel, Carolyn McCarthy, Anthony Weiner and Maurice Hinchey of New York, Leonard Boswell, David Loebsack and Bruce Braley of Iowa, Dennis Cardoza, Jerry McNerney, Loretta Sanchez and Jim Costa of California, Russ Carnahan of Missouri, Ben Chandler and John Yarmuth of Kentucky, Gerry Connolly of Virginia, Jim Cooper of Tennessee, Henry Cuellar and Ruben Hinojosa of Texas, Peter DeFazio, David Wu and Kurt Schrader of Oregon, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Jim Himes of Connecticut, Rush Holt and Frank Pallone of New Jersey, Jay Inslee, Adam Smith and Rick Larsen of Washington, Bill Keating, John Tierney and Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts, Dale Kildee and Gary Peters of Michigan, Ron Kind of Wisconsin, Jim Matheson of Utah, Michael Michaud and Chellie Pingree of Maine, Brad Miller, David Price and Heath Shuler of North Carolina, Ed Perlmutter of Colorado, Collin Peterson and Tim Walz of Minnesota, Nick Rahall of West Virginia, Betty Sutton of Ohio and Pete Visclosky of Indiana.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Democrat Harry Reid gets Nevada an exemption from "benevolent " Obamacare
Nevada secures partial waiver from federal health care law
Original Post: Daily Caller
Nevada got a partial waiver from the health care law — a significant development that Democrats are dismissing as par for the course and Republicans are claiming as a political victory.
The Health and Human Services Department announced late Friday that Nevada had secured a statewide waiver from certain implementation requirements of the Obama administration’s health care law, because forcing them through, the department found, “may lead to the destabilization of the individual market.”
The announcement makes Nevada one of only three states to have compliance requirements under the health care bill waived.
Original Post: Daily Caller
Nevada got a partial waiver from the health care law — a significant development that Democrats are dismissing as par for the course and Republicans are claiming as a political victory.
The Health and Human Services Department announced late Friday that Nevada had secured a statewide waiver from certain implementation requirements of the Obama administration’s health care law, because forcing them through, the department found, “may lead to the destabilization of the individual market.”
The announcement makes Nevada one of only three states to have compliance requirements under the health care bill waived.
More communist warship from Democrat Barbara Boxer
Sen. Boxer cheers naming of the USNS Cesar Chavez
Original Post: Dailycaller
While the idea of naming a U.S. Naval ship after labor leader Cesar Chavez has roiled some, California Democrat Sen. Barbara Boxer is thrilled that the activist will be receiving the honor.
Boxer called Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus Tuesday to thank him for the decision.
“I applaud Secretary Mabus for continuing the Navy’s rich tradition of naming these supply ships after pioneers, explorers and visionaries by honoring César Chávez, who worked tirelessly to promote fair working conditions and equal rights for all Americans,” Boxer said in a statement. “This is a fitting tribute to Chávez, who served in the Navy, and follows the Navy’s recent decisions to name other supply ships after American visionaries from Medgar Evers to Amelia Earhart to Lewis and Clark.”
Republican California Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, had a very different opinion. He said that it was indicative of the Navy’s politicization.
“This decision shows the direction the Navy is heading. Naming a ship after Cesar Chavez goes right along with other recent decisions by the Navy that appear to be more about making a political statement than upholding the Navy’s history and tradition,” he said.
According to Hunter, if the Navy is trying to honor the Hispanic community there are people far better suited for that distinction, including Marine Corps Sergeant Rafael Peralta, a Medal of Honor nominee, and World War II Medal of Honor winner John Finn.
Chavez was a labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (which later became the United Farm Workers). He was know for his agressive yet non-violent tactics to organize and demand workers’ rights.
The T-AKE 14 ship to be named is currently under construction at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego. It is expected to be ready by late 2012.
Update 6:26 : Boxer Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and 13 other Democratic Senators sent a letter of support to Mabus Wednesday.
“Those who have criticized the Navy’s decision to name this ship after César Chávez show a disappointing lack of knowledge of the standards and traditions that are such an important part of United States Navy history,” the letter reads.
Original Post: Dailycaller
While the idea of naming a U.S. Naval ship after labor leader Cesar Chavez has roiled some, California Democrat Sen. Barbara Boxer is thrilled that the activist will be receiving the honor.
Boxer called Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus Tuesday to thank him for the decision.
“I applaud Secretary Mabus for continuing the Navy’s rich tradition of naming these supply ships after pioneers, explorers and visionaries by honoring César Chávez, who worked tirelessly to promote fair working conditions and equal rights for all Americans,” Boxer said in a statement. “This is a fitting tribute to Chávez, who served in the Navy, and follows the Navy’s recent decisions to name other supply ships after American visionaries from Medgar Evers to Amelia Earhart to Lewis and Clark.”
Republican California Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, had a very different opinion. He said that it was indicative of the Navy’s politicization.
“This decision shows the direction the Navy is heading. Naming a ship after Cesar Chavez goes right along with other recent decisions by the Navy that appear to be more about making a political statement than upholding the Navy’s history and tradition,” he said.
According to Hunter, if the Navy is trying to honor the Hispanic community there are people far better suited for that distinction, including Marine Corps Sergeant Rafael Peralta, a Medal of Honor nominee, and World War II Medal of Honor winner John Finn.
Chavez was a labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (which later became the United Farm Workers). He was know for his agressive yet non-violent tactics to organize and demand workers’ rights.
The T-AKE 14 ship to be named is currently under construction at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego. It is expected to be ready by late 2012.
Update 6:26 : Boxer Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and 13 other Democratic Senators sent a letter of support to Mabus Wednesday.
“Those who have criticized the Navy’s decision to name this ship after César Chávez show a disappointing lack of knowledge of the standards and traditions that are such an important part of United States Navy history,” the letter reads.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
$2M Michigan lottery winner defends use of food stamps
Original Post: Yahoo
Ron French, Detroit News staff writer
A Michigan man who won $2 million in a state lottery game continues to collect food stamps 11 months after striking it rich.
And there's nothing the state can do about it, at least for now.
Leroy Fick, 59, of Auburn won $2 million in the state lottery TV show "Make Me Rich!" last June. But the state's Department of Human Services determined he was still eligible for food stamps, Fick's attorney, John Wilson of Midland, said Tuesday.
Eligibility for food stamps is based on gross income and follows federal guidelines; lottery winnings are considered liquid assets and don't count as income. As long as Fick's gross income stays below the eligibility requirement for food stamps, he can receive them, even if he has a million dollars in the bank.
Food stamps are paid for through tax dollars and are meant to help support low-income families.
"If you're going to try to make me feel bad, you're not going to do it," Fick told WNEM-TV in Saginaw on Monday.
Wilson said Fick told the DHS officials he'd won $2 million but was told he could keep using the Bridge Card issued to him to buy groceries.
Fick could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Al Kimichik, director of the office of inspector general for DHS, said the department could not comment on individual cases but that it this week began the process of requesting a waiver from the federal government to close the lottery loophole. If it is granted, assets would be counted in determining food stamp eligibility.
Though the food stamp program is federal and states must follow U.S. guidelines, states sometimes request waivers of rules. Michigan was granted a waiver recently to stop college students from qualifying for food stamps.
"For Leroy Fick to continue to use a Bridge Card, paid for by the taxpayers, after winning the lottery, is obscene," said Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge. "What a waste of taxpayer money."
Jones contacted DHS officials Monday about Fick's case, and was told the department's hands were tied by federal regulations.
"There is no liquid asset requirement for getting food stamps," Jones said. "The department is asking the federal government for an immediate change (in policy). They're hoping this case will help the federal government act."
Until then, Fick can collect food stamps and keep his lottery winnings in the bank.
"I am not going to sit and debate the ethics of this," Wilson said. "But from his standpoint, he did what he was supposed to do -- he informed the state, and the state said he could keep using the card. The problem is with the state."
Ron French, Detroit News staff writer
A Michigan man who won $2 million in a state lottery game continues to collect food stamps 11 months after striking it rich.
And there's nothing the state can do about it, at least for now.
Leroy Fick, 59, of Auburn won $2 million in the state lottery TV show "Make Me Rich!" last June. But the state's Department of Human Services determined he was still eligible for food stamps, Fick's attorney, John Wilson of Midland, said Tuesday.
Eligibility for food stamps is based on gross income and follows federal guidelines; lottery winnings are considered liquid assets and don't count as income. As long as Fick's gross income stays below the eligibility requirement for food stamps, he can receive them, even if he has a million dollars in the bank.
Food stamps are paid for through tax dollars and are meant to help support low-income families.
"If you're going to try to make me feel bad, you're not going to do it," Fick told WNEM-TV in Saginaw on Monday.
Wilson said Fick told the DHS officials he'd won $2 million but was told he could keep using the Bridge Card issued to him to buy groceries.
Fick could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Al Kimichik, director of the office of inspector general for DHS, said the department could not comment on individual cases but that it this week began the process of requesting a waiver from the federal government to close the lottery loophole. If it is granted, assets would be counted in determining food stamp eligibility.
Though the food stamp program is federal and states must follow U.S. guidelines, states sometimes request waivers of rules. Michigan was granted a waiver recently to stop college students from qualifying for food stamps.
"For Leroy Fick to continue to use a Bridge Card, paid for by the taxpayers, after winning the lottery, is obscene," said Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge. "What a waste of taxpayer money."
Jones contacted DHS officials Monday about Fick's case, and was told the department's hands were tied by federal regulations.
"There is no liquid asset requirement for getting food stamps," Jones said. "The department is asking the federal government for an immediate change (in policy). They're hoping this case will help the federal government act."
Until then, Fick can collect food stamps and keep his lottery winnings in the bank.
"I am not going to sit and debate the ethics of this," Wilson said. "But from his standpoint, he did what he was supposed to do -- he informed the state, and the state said he could keep using the card. The problem is with the state."
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